Iran: Captive’s Family Tries New Appeal

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/25/world/middleeast/iran-captives-family-tries-new-appeal.html

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Relatives of Amir Hekmati, the Marine veteran imprisoned in Iran for nearly four years, left their Michigan home on Wednesday for a European trip that includes a stop in Vienna, where negotiators for Iran and six world powers are trying to complete an agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program. Mr. Hekmati’s sister Sarah and her husband were accompanied on the trip by Montel Williams, the television personality and veterans-rights advocate who has helped lead a campaign calling for the release of Mr. Hekmati and other Americans held in Iran. Mr. Hekmati, 31, the American-born son of Iranian immigrants, has been held in Tehran since he was seized by security agents there in August 2011 while visiting his grandmother. He was originally convicted of espionage and sentenced to death, but the charge was later reduced to helping a hostile power, with a 10-year imprisonment. Mr. Hekmati has asserted his innocence and described himself as a political hostage of Iran.